Residents of Wheatley face an uncertain future after an explosion rocked the community's downtown core on Thursday evening.
At around 6 p.m., emergency crews were called to the blast on Erie Street and Talbot Road East.
Following the explosion, the area was evacuated by police and the public was asked to avoid the area.
The explosion happened near where a hydrogen sulphide leak was first discovered back in early June and again in July on 15 Erie Street North. Both leaks prompted evacuation orders and declarations of a state of emergency.
Hydrogen sulphide is a naturally occurring gas that comes from deep in the earth and can be toxic and flammable.
During a media conference on Friday morning, Mayor Darrin Canniff confirmed that gas is still present and leaking at the scene. He urged people to stay away from the area.
"Please don't go out and gawk," said Canniff. "It is an unsafe area, it is unstable. So please stay away from there. Let the EMS, the first responding teams that are out there look after it."
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Chatham-Kent CAO Don Shropshire echoed the mayor's statement that the scene isn't stable.
"We still have gas coming out of the ground and until that stops, it's not safe to be in the area...Until the gas subsides and we no longer have the hydrogen sulphide detected, we expect that area will remain closed indefinitely," said Shropshire.
Three people were transported to the hospital with severe but non-life-threatening injuries and four people were transported to the hospital with minor, moderate injuries.
Three of the injured individuals were municipal staff members.
According to Chatham-Kent Fire Chief Chris Case, two buildings were destroyed in the blast with several surrounding buildings damaged by flying debris.
According to Case, there is currently no indication of how the explosion was triggered. He added that because gas is still being detected, it presents a challenging situation for firefighters.
"I have no idea how we can get in and stabilize the situation while this ongoing risk is emanating from the ground," he said. "I'm quite angry that our firefighters keep returning to save lives on three occasions while we still have this ongoing risk."
Case said, bluntly, there is a risk of another explosion.
"That is why the evacuation is always two blocks," Case explained. "Because we are basically surrounding the area of occupied buildings to try to reduce the risk and we have our police and public works officials restricting people driving into the area...But at this time we do not know what's happening under the ground."
Municipal officials in Chatham-Kent said earlier this month that the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry had committed to taking the lead on the investigation to identify the source of the leak.
Mayor Canniff said it's unacceptable for the people of Wheatley to continue to live in fear and that the Municipality of Chatham-Kent is continuing to push the ministry to take on the responsibility of finding the source of the leak and correct the issue.
"It's unacceptable," said Canniff. "Imagine sitting there and wondering 'when [will the area be evacuated] again?' or 'when will there be another explosion?' I wouldn't want anyone to live like that."
According to Shropshire, the municipality does not have the mandate or authority needed to deal with abandoned gas wells, which is believed to be the most probable cause of the gas leak, and said that responsibly lies in the hands of the province.
He added that although there has been ongoing communication between the two parties, the ministry did not act with the sense of urgency the municipality had hoped it would.
"There's been a number of emotions," said Shropshire. "The first one is a sense of relief that people were moved out of harm's way and that the situation wasn't worse...I think there's also a lot of frustration from people to know that the first gas leak was detected in June and we've had three events in the last three months."
Municipal officials were set to meet with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry once again on Friday afternoon.
"Until you get some better information, like trying to identify where the gas is tracking, it's not practical to just start digging up holes, trying to identify where this [leak] is," Shropshire explained. "Every time you do that, you're at risk of creating another type of event."
A reception centre has been established at the Wheatley Arena for those who have been evacuated from the area. It will be open from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
According to Canniff, many of the Wheatley residents who were asked to evacuate their homes had to leave without notice and without any of their belongings. Residents who wish to help out are being encouraged to donate gift cards, which can be dropped off at Wheatley Arena.
Wheatley residents who are in need of food, shelter or clothing are being directed to call 3-1-1 or call 519-354-6628 after hours to speak with a case manager.
According to Shropshire, the municipality's Economic Development Department is also working with the impacted businesses to offer support.
Any residents who smell gas are also being urged to leave the area and call 9-1-1 immediately.
Meanwhile, Chatham-Kent Police are asking any members of the public who may have video or photos from the downtown Wheatley area between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday to forward it to Constable Brad Hyatt at bradh@chatham-kent.ca to help assist with the investigation.
